Blood Hunt and Hide
by sagebrooks
Summary: The hunt is over, the Red John saga is put to an end. But does it also mean the end of Jane? "He had promised. Then how come he had left her? And how come it wasn't okay?" J/L, sorting out their issues, eventual Jisbon. T for theme and language.
1. Chapter 1

**So I'm actually going to attempt a multi-chapter! This one will probably only be 3, maybe 4 chapters long, but PLEASE let me know what you think and if I'm going in the right direction. Like many of you, I read one of the newest spoilers about season 6, about how a "new female lead will have a lot to do with Jane staying at the CBI after the death of Red John" and I wanted to write a fic to kind of sort out my feelings about that, and how maybe I think it should go. As always, enjoy and please review! :)**

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"The CBI team along with its consultant, Patrick Jane, has worked together and after over a decade-long hunt, has managed to find and kill the serial murderer responsible for over thirty deaths in almost twenty years, Red John."

"The world is a better and safer place without this man lurking among us. We thank Teresa Lisbon and her team for ridding us of such an awful man."

"Where do I suppose he is? Burning in hell, if justice exists after life on earth."

"Patrick Jane, consultant for the CBI, had strong personal ties to this case. I know it must be a relief and a satisfying feeling to have the man responsible for his wife and daughter's death dead, after all these years."

"This team's bravery will forever be remembered."

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It was minutes after the trigger had been pulled to kill Red John that the press had arrived, covering the scene and the story. Cameras were flashing around the CBI team. People were hugging, smiling, laughing, crying tears of joy that he was dead. Police officers from all over the state were there to congratulate the team.

They should have been celebrating with them.

Patrick Janeshould have been grinning, praising whatever god he saw fit, hugging, crying. This was _his _guy, after all. And it had been twelve brutal years chasing this man.

But he wasn't. Lisbon and her team were still, they hadn't moved since the trigger had been pulled. They were staring at the lifeless body of the man who had caused so much harm through the years with a pool of blood sitting around him. Ironic.

Jane couldn't take his eyes off of the body and his normally sparkling blue eyes were emotionless, unreadable. Lisbon turned her eyes from the body and glanced over at Jane, shocked still.

After a minute, she spoke. "Congratulations, Jane," she said softly, genuine. There was no smile though, only raw emotion and shock and disbelief.

Jane never took his eyes off the body. He only nodded, and after a minute, finally drew his eyes up and began walking toward the door of the house. Without a word, he brushed briskly by Lisbon and exited, ignoring all the people who stuck microphones and cameras in his face on the way out. He walked straight to his car, turned the key in the ignition, and drove away, without a single word.

Lisbon watched him go through the window. Her team hadn't said anything to her, though they finally managed to look up from the body. And Lisbon wiped away the single tear that fell off her face and exited, finally answering to the dozens of people waiting impatiently to interview the senior agent hero of the CBI, Teresa Lisbon.

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It was four days later, and Lisbon was still filling out paperwork on the Red John case. The man was dead, yet there had been no celebration. No hugs, no expression of joy for the murderer that had haunted her unit and her consultant for over a decade. Because Jane still hadn't made his appearance since his death. He was gone, without a word, once again.

"Where's Jane?"

As if she had read her thoughts. Lisbon looked up to see Special Agent Laura Price, her new boss, standing in the doorway to her office. Lisbon just shook her head.

"I don't know ma'am. I haven't seen him since the death," she replied honestly.

Price nodded. "It's understandable he'd be in a state of shock. It was pretty traumatic, what happened."

Lisbon nodded in agreement, but reluctance. "I just wish he told me where he was going."

Price took a step closer and tapped on Lisbon's desk as she made eye contact with her. She gave Lisbon a small smile. "In due time, Agent Lisbon. In due time." With that, she turned on her heel and walked out, leaving the paperwork to Lisbon.

_"It's gonna be all right, Lisbon, okay? I promise." _

_"Love you."_

_ "I'm always going to save you, Lisbon, whether you like it or not."_

_ "Whatever happens, you can trust me. I need you to know that."_

_ "I want to see what your face feels like when you're smiling."_

_ "Anything for you, Lisbon."_

_ "If I were dying, I'd call you."_

_ "Lisbon, look at me. Lisbon, I'm not leaving you, okay? I promise."_

He had _promised. _Then how come he had left her? And how come it wasn't okay? Lisbon ran her hands through her hair and bit back her tears, trying to concentrate on her work.

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Jane had imagined this to be much different.

For twelve years only one thought had gotten him through his quest for Red John. The aftermath of it all. When he was alone and feeling discouraged or weak, he would think about what his life would be like after they finally got Red John.

He always thought he'd be celebrating. He had always assumed when the day came and Red John was finally out of his life for good, he'd be smiling for days and days and days. How he'd feel lighter, he wouldn't have to worry so much, he might actually sleep.

He didn't expect this.

He didn't expect, four days after Red John had been put down, to be out on the secluded part of the beach in Malibu, all alone, still wearing the three piece suit he had worn when Red John was killed.

He expected to be with Lisbon.

He had always thought when Red John was over, he could finally hug Lisbon, _really hug her. _He wanted to hold her, to thank her, to spend time with her, with no worries or fears. After all, for some reason, she had been with him for twelve years and never left him, even when he gave her every reason to. He kept her at arm's length even when it killed him for the sole reason of protecting her. All that kept him going was thinking of the _after. _Of what he could do when Red John finally stopped haunting him.

But Red John never stopped. He was still in his dreams, he wasn't _sleeping. _He could never fully be out of his life, because he had been a part of it for so long. Patrick Jane didn't know what to do without hunting Red John.

So he did all he knew how to do. He ran. He hid. He ran and he hid from his team, from the only person he wanted to be with right now. And he ran and hid because he didn't understand what he was supposed to do now. He didn't know how to begin to apologize for what he had put Lisbon and the team through. He didn't know what to say, what to do. He didn't know _how _to move on.

So Patrick Jane ran, and he hid.

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**What do you think? Chapter two will be up tomorrow or Saturday!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Back with chapter 2! This one is dipping into the backstory and setting it up for the final chapter...I'm thinking I'll just stick with 3. So hopefully this stays true to the characters and the story, and hopefully you like the characters I've added. I'm praying the "new female lead" will be someone like this, so this is a mix of what I think will happen in season 6 as well as wishful thinking ;) Thank you all for your kind and helpful reviews and please keep it up and let me know if I'm going in the right direction! I appreciate all of you!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except Laura Price and I'm hoping Bruno Heller will make a character like her instead of a Lorelei for season 6 anyway.**

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Seven days. Seven days since Red John had been killed, and seven days since Jane had disappeared. Lisbon walked into work the next Monday morning having slept none over the weekend.

"Damn you, Jane," she muttered under her breath as her two-hundredth call to him in the past two hours went to voicemail, just as they all had. She was trying to convince herself that she hadn't given up, that she was calling in the hopes of hearing him, not just to hear his voice on voicemail over and over again.

What was he trying to do, pull a goddamn Vegas stunt again? After all they'd been through; after all _she'd_ been through?

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_ It had been a normal Monday morning—Lisbon was the first to work, as usual, with the exception of Jane, who had probably spent the night on his couch._

_ "'Morning, Lisbon," he had said when she walked in, a bright smile on his face and his hair ruffled._

_ "Hey, Jane," she had said, all business as she made her way to her desk._

_ She had worked for two hours, uninterrupted, when she got the call._

_ "Boss, Red John was spotted in that cabin you and Jane staked out at last week. We've got eyes on him, but we need to move now," Rigsby had said urgently, peeking his head in the room._

_ "Let's go." She hadn't hesitated at all. Lisbon jumped up, pulled on her bulletproof vest, and shook Jane awake._

_ "Red John," she whispered._

_ Without a word, Jane woke and followed her to the elevator and down to the car._

_ The car ride was quiet for the first two minutes. Lisbon was speeding through the town; she never sped. But this was different. This was Red John._

_ "Jane," she said, finally breaking the silence. He barely acknowledged her voice._

_ "Listen to me, if we catch him—"_

_ "When we catch him," Jane said._

_ Lisbon nodded. "—Let me handle it. I'll arrest him and then let you talk to him for as long as you want before we charge him. But Jane, you can't kill him," she was firm on that point._

_ Jane didn't answer for a while. "I'll do what I have to do."_

_ "Jane," she huffed, running a yellow light._

_ "Lisbon, I can handle it. If you have to arrest me, fine."_

_ "Jane, I don't want to arrest you!" Lisbon exclaimed, gripping the steering wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. "Don't make me do that," she said, softer._

_ Jane turned and looked at her. "You do what you have to do, Lisbon. I'll understand. Let me do what I have to do."_

She had nodded then. She just didn't know that what he had to do involved running away, again.

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Lisbon sat down at her desk and tried to get some work done. She ran her hands through her hair, trying to get the migraine that had developed to go away as she attempted to focus on the words in front of her. Coffee. She needed coffee.

Lisbon stood up and silently walked to the break room, passing Van Pelt, Cho, and Rigsby working. They hadn't said much to her in the past week, and truthfully, Lisbon didn't want to hear much. And they didn't know what to say.

She filled up her mug with coffee and took a sip. Better.

Lisbon was just about to grab a muffin and a banana from the counter when she heard a couple of gasps from the desks outside and a familiar voice say, "How did everyone get along without me?"

Lisbon dropped her coffee mug, full of coffee, into the sink, and rushed out the doors of the break room. Across the hall she saw Jane, dirty from head to toe, and his jacket missing from his three piece suit. His hair was ruffled and there were bags under his eyes, yet he was still smiling, though there was sadness behind it as he made eye contact with Lisbon.

"Working hard, Lisbon?" he said, but Lisbon didn't answer. She walked briskly across the hall, weaving through the desks to where Jane was standing.

"God, Jane," she whispered, as she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Jane was surprised by the hug, but he still leaned into it, burying his face between her hair and her shoulder as he pulled her closer to him. He held on for a few seconds longer than Lisbon would have before she let him go and stepped back, her face slightly flushed.

Embarrassed, she glanced around the office to see her team all staring. "Everybody back to work!" she barked, and they all turned their eyes back to their computers. She turned back to Jane, her eyes narrowed as she punched him in the arm, hard. Jane took a step back and rubbed it. "Damn you," she said under her breath, and marched back to her office, leaving him to stand by himself to rub his new bruise.

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"Where'd you go?" Cho said, deadpan, to Jane as soon as Lisbon closed her office door.

Jane shrugged. "Just, away. To think."

Cho glared at him, his eye contact focused solidly on Jane. "Screw you," he said.

"You did it this time, Jane," Rigsby agreed, looking up.

"Yeah, she did all that she did for you, and you just left. Again. Nice way to say thanks," Grace added.

"Good to be back," Jane said, nodding, as he sprawled out on the couch. He hadn't been there for half a minute before he heard his name. He opened his eyes and looked up.

Laura Price.

She beckoned him into her office. With a groan, Jane pulled himself up and followed her.

"Sit," she said, pointing to a chair and closing the door behind him. Jane did.

After she found her seat and a minute of silence, Price spoke. "Where did you go?"

"Malibu Beach," he answered.

"Why?"

"Because Red John is dead."

"So you celebrated at a beach, alone?"

Jane ran his hands through his hair. "I was… Thinking."

Price looked away before locking eyes with Jane again. "Listen, I understand this is a big part of your life, Red John and all, and I understand you might be wondering where to go from here. I get that. But you can't continue to run off like that. He's dead. Lisbon killed him. And you haven't said a word about it to her or your team."

"That's why! Because Lisbon killed him I had to get away!"

Price sat back in her chair. "So because your partner finally ended your nightmare, you had to run away from her."

Jane nodded, looking away.

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_She had told him to stay in the car. Ordered him to, pleaded him to. But he couldn't. He just couldn't do that as he watched her and the CBI team and SWAT surround the cabin Red John was in. He had to end this, he had to be the one._

_ So he threw the passenger door open and walked out, a gun tucked in his outside suit pocket. He watched as Lisbon led the way in after counting down and listened to the screams from inside._

_ He ran. He didn't think, he just ran. Into the cabin, into Red John's hiding place. And he wanted to unsee everything._

_ Somehow, Red John had managed to kill all the SWAT team members…Jane saw their bodies sprawled out all over the floor. He had Rigsby, Cho, and Van Pelt cornered against the wall, hands on their heads, weapons on the floor. Jane glanced up. He must have shot from the balcony. He looked back to where Red John was standing, in the center of the cabin. And he saw who he was holding with a gun at her head._

_ "Lisbon," he breathed._

_ "That's right, Patrick," Red John cackled, tightening his hold around her shoulders as he drove the gun into her head. Lisbon closed her eyes from the pain._

_ "I have your precious Teresa. The final trophy of my quest. I'm going to die here, Patrick, so congratulations. Backup will be here any second. But not before I take her and the last of the people you love." Red John waved the gun toward the rest of the team, still standing facing the wall._

_ "I'll be dead, but so will she. And so will they. Ask yourself, Patrick, was it really worth chasing me? Getting close to this woman just to see her murdered by the same man who murdered your beautiful wife and child?"_

_ "You son of a bitch," Jane had muttered._

_ Red John only smiled. "You have a gun, don't you Patrick?" he had said. Jane removed it from his pocket slowly and Red John smiled. "But you won't pull the trigger. Because of your fear, you can't protect the woman you love most. Life is really the worst, isn't it Patrick?"_

_ Red John threw Lisbon on the floor and she hit the ground with a sickening thud. He pinned her down with his foot, bruising her midsection._

_ As hard as it was, Jane looked down at Lisbon, fear and concern obvious in his eyes. "Lisbon, look at me." She did, her face full of trust and fear. "Lisbon, I'm not leaving you, okay? I promise." She only nodded slightly, and Red John pushed harder, causing her to wince in pain._

_ "How unfortunate," Red John said, shaking his head. "You promised, yet you'll break it."_

_ Cho muttered something under his breath and Red John, annoyed, turned his eyes toward him. This slight release on the hold he had on Lisbon gave her enough time to wiggle out, point the gun at his head, and tug the trigger, all in one smooth motion. It happened in seconds. In seconds, Red John was dead and the nightmare was over. Everybody had survived._

_ No thanks to Jane._

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"Jane," Price said gently, and Jane pulled his gaze back to meet her eyes. "She killed that man for you. For her team. For herself. She saved you all that day."

"That's exactly what I mean," he said softly. "She did it all by herself."

"And good for her."

Jane shook his head, an annoyed smirk on his face. He leaned forward over the desk. "She shouldn't have had to, that's what I mean. And I don't know, with him dead, why should I stick around at the CBI? I don't need it anymore."

Price only shook her head, and stood up. "Listen, I heard about the Vegas stunt you pulled last year. I know about Lorelei Martins. And I know how much you hurt Lisbon when you left. You're her _partner." _Price walked to the door. "I haven't known the two of you near as long as you have worked with her. I know you give her trouble, and I know you're hard to work with." Jane scoffed. "But," Price continued, "I also know that for some reason she stays with you. I understand why this is so hard for you, but I can tell you one thing. This is hard for her, too. And you're not making it any easier. As much as you deny it, you do need the CBI. You need Lisbon. And she needs you." With that, Price walked out of her office leaving Jane alone to think. Again.

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**Thoughts? Yeah, hopefully that went as smooth as I wanted it to. I want to hear what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, here it is, y'all! The final chapter to my tiny multichapter :D I'm kind of nervous about this conclusion, so I'd really appreciate some feedback from all my loyal readers ;D Once again, my main goal was to stay somewhat realistic and true to the characters' reactions. I'd like to address a couple things:**

**1. snowflurryflake-yes, I'm almost positive the ending of the Red John saga won't go like this, in that Jane has nothing to do with his death. But honestly, my main goal was really to show the interactions with Jane and Lisbon and focus more on the character growths. I don't have the imagination or the time to really stay true to exactly what ****_should _****happen. :P And what fun will season 6 be if I'm right? xD Thank you for your kind review; I do appreciate it even though I may not have been entirely accurate. :)**

**2. Guest from 8/2-Thanks for analyzing the time frame, I really didn't spend much time on that. All I did was a rough estimate and the conclusion I came to was that Jane worked with Lisbon at the CBI for 10 years near the end of season 5. By the time this storyline airs in the show, it will be roughly another year, and I assumed RJ killed Jane's family approximately a year before working at the CBI, so I estimated about 12 years since their deaths, and 11 years at the CBI. Your time line is a little more scientific, so thanks! But I'm taking mine and running with it, since it's not that significant to the story.**

**Okay, and with that, here we go! Fingers crossed you all love it-thank you all so much for reviewing and favoriting and reading; I appreciate y'all so much! :)**

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_We've been walking a thin line,_

_You've got one hand on the devil, baby, _

_And one hand in mine._

_But don't let go,_

_No it's not too late you know._

_-Where We Belong, Thriving Ivory_

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She was working late again, and Jane didn't know why. Everyone else had gone home—it was just Jane and Lisbon in the building. The difference was, Lisbon was working and Jane was lounging on his couch. They hadn't said a word to each other since Jane's return—two whole days ago.

When the clock struck eleven, Jane sighed, stretched, and pulled himself off the couch. He made his way to Lisbon's office and stopped in her doorway, without a word. She didn't acknowledge his presence either, deep in her work. Quietly, Jane walked up to her desk and stopped.

Still nothing.

Lisbon kept right on working as if there was nothing, or no one, in her office.

Jane slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, folded expertly into a frog. Gently, he placed it on her desk, a smirk tugging at his lips. Lisbon forced herself to keep her eyes on the paper, but still jumped when the frog hopped up a few seconds later. Jane grinned.

"An origami frog, huh?" she said, still refusing to meet his eyes or look at the frog.

Jane nodded. "Your favorite," he said, his eyes sparkling, but Lisbon still refused to look into them.

Jane stood staring at Lisbon, not talking. He tucked his hands in his pockets and swayed back and forth, glancing around the office.

Lisbon finally threw down her pen and stacked papers together, finally drawing her exasperated face up to lock eyes with Jane. "You're not leaving, are you Jane?"

Jane shook his head, smiling. "Nope. Not till I get what I want."

Lisbon sighed, moving the stacks of papers off to the side of her desk. "Okay, Jane, what do you want?" she said, tired and irritated.

"I want to play a game," was Jane's excited reply.

"Really, Jane? Now?" Lisbon said with an eye roll.

"Oh, come on, Lisbon. I gave you a frog, the least you can do is humor me with a game!" Jane whined.

"A frog I didn't want!" Lisbon retorted. "But fine." She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Make it fast."

Jane grinned with excitement and walked over to her couch to sit down. "Okay, we're each going to tell each other three secrets the other has tried to keep for all these years. And then we'll see if the other already knew about them. I'll start."

"What is this, Jane?" Lisbon exclaimed, annoyed, as she drew her eyes away from him.

"Stay with me Lisbon! Okay. First one: you found out, without my knowing and without telling me, that the object in LaRoche's beloved Tupperware container is a tongue."

Lisbon gave him no response.

"Yeah . . . Kudos keeping that from me for so long. It took me awhile, but I finally managed to figure it out." Jane shuddered. "Ew, we'll discuss the sanity of LaRoche later."

"We'll discuss the sanity of you later too," Lisbon shot back.

Jane grabbed his chest, as if he was wounded. "Ouch, Lisbon. Hurtful and unnecessary!"

Lisbon only sighed heavily, rolling her eyes.

"Your turn," Jane said with a smile.

"Fine, Jane," Lisbon responded, sitting up in her chair. "Okay, um, you're really a hateful and tortured man who thinks he has it all together but really has no idea who he is or what the hell he plans on doing with his life, but he acts like he has it all together. And he doesn't care who gets hurt when he tries to figure himself out."

Jane stopped smiling, but nodded. "Harsh, but true. See, you can read people, Lisbon!" She rolled her eyes.

"My turn again. And you tried desperately to hide this from me, probably because you're worried about what I'll think about you. But fear not, I don't think any less of you because of it. Three years ago, you slept with Walter Mashburn. For the life of me, I can't figure out why, though…" Jane said, running his hand through his hair thoughtfully.

"Allow me to enlighten you," Lisbon said, narrowing her eyes as her face reddened. "Because I wanted to feel something for once in my life."

"Did you?"

"Yes, for a moment. And I was _happy."_

"I'm glad, Lisbon," Jane said with a nod.

"And for the record, I think much less of you after you had your little episode with Lorelei," Lisbon shot at him.

"Now, Lisbon, that's not fair," Jane said, holding up a hand.

"You're right, Jane, it's not. Not to me." She was infuriated now.

"I know, Lisbon, I know." Jane stared deeply into her eyes. "I'm sorry, Lisbon, I am." Lisbon only drew her eyes away from his and shook her head, seething. "Your turn," he said gently.

"I don't want to play anymore," she said, shaking her head, refusing to look him in the eyes.

"Just because you don't know any other secrets about me?"

Lisbon didn't answer.

"Fine," Jane agreed. "But let me finish my turn. I have to say one more."

"Whatever, Jane," Lisbon said, pulling her chair back up to her desk and looking at the papers again. "You'd better make it fast though. I'd like to leave before midnight."

"Okay, I will," Jane agreed with a nod. "The third secret you've tried to keep from me and from everyone else. You're in love with me."

It was like all the air had been sucked out of the room. The sudden tension released, so much more intense than normal, made it hard to breathe. The way he had said it, how fast he had said it. Without warning. Lisbon was sure it had never felt more _hot _in her office.

She immediately dropped the papers, but she refused to look up. She knew Jane was watching her, she could feel his eyes burning into her head. But she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing, even though she knew her face was flushed and her hands were trembling even as she sat there.

"Get out, Jane," she said through her clenched teeth, still staring at her desk. "Get the hell out of my office."

"You can't keep pushing away, Lisbon," Jane said as he stood up from the couch.

That was the last straw.

"_I _can't keep pushing?!" Lisbon shot her eyes up and looked him square in the face, her eyes and face burning. "_Me?!" _She shot up out of her chair and walked right in front of Jane. "After you leave me not once, but twice, after you _sleep with another woman, _the mistress of Red John, for God's sake, after you tell me you love me, after you string me along and put me through hell and pull me this way and that way and throw my feelings off a cliff, you say _I can't keep pushing away?! _You blame _me?_" Lisbon poked him hard in the chest. "Go to hell, Jane," she muttered, turning her wet eyes away from him.

"There is no hell," Jane said softly.

"Oh, there is for people like you."

Jane fell silent. "I deserved every word of that," he finally said.

"I know you did!" Lisbon shouted. "I should keep going too!" Her eyes were misty. She couldn't stand to look him in the eyes. Not his beautiful, sad, hurt eyes.

Jane nodded. "You should." He looked her right in the face.

"Shut up, Jane!" she shouted, crossing her arms in her chest. She fought back the tears.

"What do you want?" he asked her softly. Lisbon still swayed her eyes to the right and the left, but never into his eyes.

"I—I don't know anymore Jane," she answered with a sigh, tucking her hands in her pockets.

Jane didn't hesitate. He took a step closer to Lisbon and wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her close to him, holding her head against his chest.

Lisbon didn't fight it. She fell into his embrace, closing her eyes as the tears fell. She pulled her arms up to rest under her chin, between her body and his, and allowed herself to completely fall in his arms.

Eleven years. That's how long he had wanted to do this, to hold her. Sure, he had hugged her three times, but that was nothing. That was between friends, and that was too quick. That was when he was still in danger, when she was still in danger to be taken and killed by Red John. That was _before. _This was now, this was new.

Lisbon forced herself to bite back her tears, trying to tell herself that he wasn't worth crying over. She tried to tell herself that, but the truth was that he had _always _been worth crying over.

"You hurt me, Jane," she mumbled against his body as he rubbed her back soothingly.

"I know," he said softly, resting his head on hers. "I know."

"I thought you weren't coming back. I thought I did something wrong."

Jane pulled her back, grabbed her shoulders, and looked into her tear-stained eyes solemnly. "Look at me, Lisbon." Slowly, she drew her eyes up to his.

"You did nothing wrong. I'm the one who was wrong. I let you take the fall for my problem with Red John. He almost killed you, and I did nothing to save you. I could only watch as he grabbed you, threw you, stepped on you, held a gun to you. I did _nothing. _I promised I would save you and protect you, and I failed. I promised I wouldn't leave you. You had to save yourself." Jane's eyes dropped. "Just like you always have."

Lisbon shook her head furiously. "No, no, Jane. We are _partners. _We work together. I save you, you save me. And you have saved me _countless _times before. And I've saved you. That's how it works."

"He just, he had the gun pointed at you, and then the team, and I guess I thought that if I shot him he'd get you, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself," Jane admitted, turning his head to the side. "I'm not mad you killed Red John. I'm just mad you had to."

Lisbon only shook her head, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Well, I guess we're even, because I'm mad you ran away."

Jane sighed heavily. "When the guy you've been after for twelve years suddenly dies, it's kind of shocking, Lisbon. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left. But if it makes you feel better, all I thought about was you and how much I hated myself because I did that to you."

Lisbon smiled, her eyes still misty. "Good."

Jane smiled, and dropped his grip on her shoulders. Lisbon took a deep breath. "What you said before you shot me . . . You remember, don't you?" she said, almost uncertain.

Jane gave her a small smile. "Is this one of your guesses for my game?" he said, his eyes shining.

Lisbon blushed. "I suppose."

"Well, the rules are you have to tell _me _the secret. I can't tell you. I can only confirm it," Jane said.

Lisbon nodded. "Okay." She breathed in. "Then I'd say you remember it."

Jane nodded, without a word.

"And I'd say you meant it."

Jane smiled. "Well, you used up all your secrets on me for this game."

"Yeah, I know," Lisbon said. "But you have to confirm it."

Jane didn't move for a few seconds. But after awhile, he reached out with his right hand and placed it under Lisbon's chin, tilting her head up. Slowly, almost painfully slowly, he leaned his head in and placed his lips gently on her left cheek.

He allowed them to linger as he breathed in her smell—vanilla. And trust. And love, and admiration, and bravery, and selflessness. He closed his eyes and let his lips linger on her cheek, pressing them sweetly against her soft skin.

She had closed her eyes under his touch, his warm touch sending shivers up and down her spine. And when his lips had met her skin, she gasped quickly, and then relaxed. She had never felt more _calm. _She had never felt more loved or more at peace. It was like his touch sent electricity throughout her body, and she relaxed. He was gentle, loving, slow.

When he finally broke away and dropped his hand, Lisbon's eyes were still closed and she shivered. His lips on her skin had been something she had never thought she'd feel. It was magical, trusting, loving, the way he rested his lips, even if only on her cheek.

Jane looked into her eyes one more time, and with a nod, he brushed past her, giving her arm the tiniest squeeze as he did. Lisbon watched him go, and for the first time, she didn't doubt that she'd see him the next day. She knew he was coming back.

She loved him, he was right.

And he loved her, she was right.

And Red John was gone. Over. Burning in hell where bastards like him went, not where broken and beautiful men like Jane went.

"_Love you."_

_ "Lisbon, look at me. Lisbon, I'm not leaving you, okay? I promise."_

One day she'd feel more than his lips on her cheek. One day maybe he could let go and learn to _really _love, and maybe then she could too.

_In due time, _she told herself. _In due time._

* * *

**Thoughts? :)**


End file.
